Grundon endorse school project

S. Grundon (Services) have helped a class at Alder Bridge School near Reading with an unusual building project.

Every year class six at the school is given a practical building project and the most recent was to build a 2m2 'rammed earth' hut using only the raw materials that would have been available to their ancestors. Seeking assistance, the school approached Grundon, who advised that the 'as-raised' ballast from their Butts Lake Quarry would be a suitable material and agreed to donate 10 tonnes to the school.

Neil Grundon, managing director, said: 'We were delighted to help. The company policy is to get involved with the local community wherever possible by not only providing employment but practical help.'

Using shuttering loaned by a local builder, the pupils built the 1.6m high walls of the hut by pouring in the Grundon aggregate and ramming it down with thick sticks until it was solid. The hut was then thatched using traditional methods.